'Special measures to protect people' brought in at Harrogate care home after CQC inspection
A care home in Harrogate has been placed in special measures to protect people after it was rated “inadequate” by The Care Quality Commission.
The CQC’s decision follows an inspection of Bethany House in Harrogate in April and May.
Located at 3 Margaret Road, Bethany House provides accommodation and personal care to autistic people and people with a learning disability or mental health needs.
The inspection was undertaken to follow up on concerns raised with CQC about the quality of care provided to people at the home which is run by Franklin Homes Limited.
Following this inspection, CQC has rated the areas of safe and effective, as inadequate.
Caring, well-led and responsive are rated requires improvement.
Inspectors identified four breaches of regulation relating to safe care and treatment, person centred care, the safety of the home environment, and how the home is managed.
Alan Stephenson, CQC deputy director of operations in the north, said: “When we inspected Bethany House, leaders had made little improvement since our last inspection, and we found a deterioration in the quality of care being provided.
"A new interim manager was in place who was focusing on driving improvement but it was too early to see any real progress.
“Leaders failed to act when people had experienced dehydration whilst living at the home.
"Staff’s monitoring of people’s fluid intake was poor which placed people at risk of recurring harm and further dehydration.
“Staff sometimes ignored recommendations from other health professionals.
"For example, staff didn’t support people to carry out recommended exercises to aid their mobility, which impacted people’s quality of life.
"Managers also failed to refer someone to see a psychologist as recommended.”
Inspectors found:
Staff didn’t always ensure people’s care plans were accurate and fully reflected their needs.
Leaders hadn’t made sure the environment was safe for people.
Managers didn’t always ensure staff had clear guidance to enable them to support people safely.
Staff didn’t always administer or manage people’s medicines safely.
Leaders didn’t always work well with people and healthcare partners to establish and maintain safe systems of care.
However:
Leaders identified that some staff didn’t feel comfortable speaking up and had taken steps to address this.
Staff sought people’s consent before carrying out tasks to ensure they were comfortable.
Staff spoke with people respectfully and with kindness.
CQC uses feedback from people using services, their loved ones, and staff to help detect any changes in care.
Special measures means the CQC will closely monitor the home to ensure people are safe while they make improvements.
There will also be a structured timeframe so the home understands when they need to make improvements by.
Mr Stephenson said: “Leaders had allowed a decline in people participating in activities to happen which affected people’s wellbeing and happiness.
"Two people who used to enjoy outings to cafes, clubs and events, were now sat in their rooms for longer periods of time which placed them at risk of loneliness.
“We have told leaders where we expect to see rapid, and continued improvements.
"Leaders were responsive to our feedback and took action to address our concerns following the inspection.
"We will return to check on their progress and won’t hesitate to use our regulatory powers further if people still aren’t receiving the care they have a right to expect.”